A customer leaves Joseph Schmidt Confections in a quiet tree lined block on 16th Street Thursday April 2, 2009. The Joseph Schmidt brand of confections is being discontinued by Hershey Corp. Stores including the one at 3489 16th Street in San Francisco, CA will close by June 30.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

A customer leaves Joseph Schmidt Confections in a quiet tree lined...

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Joseph Schmidt Confections chocolate.

Photo: John Lee, Special To The Chronicle

Joseph Schmidt Confections chocolate.

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Detail of the colorful Easter display at Joseph Schmidt Confections Thursday April 2, 2009. The Joseph Schmidt brand of confections is being discontinued by Hershey Corp. Stores including the one at 3489 16th Street in San Francisco, CA will close by June 30.

Just when you think you've had all the bad news you can take, along comes the demise of Joseph Schmidt truffles.

Easter is the last big chocolate holiday for the sugary domed wonders that became a San Francisco tradition after confectioner Joseph Schmidt opened his shop in 1983. The Hershey Co., which bought Joseph Schmidt Confections in 2005, is discontinuing the brand and closing its two Bay Area stores - in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood and San Jose - by June 30.

On a recent day, Annie Woods brought her children, Ella, 3 1/2, and Montgomery, 16 months, to the Castro store to shop for relatives and came out laden with several bags that would last, she said, "through Easter, spring and a couple of birthdays." She is a fan of both the candy and the colorful keepsake boxes.

"It's sad they're closing," she said, noting that it was her children's first - and probably last - visit to the shop. She had hoped to make holiday forays a tradition.

David Southern, another Easter shopper, said he'll miss sharing the local flavor with friends in far-flung locales. "I could send the candy all over the world, but I had to come here to get them," he said, especially in the days before the chocolates could be ordered online or purchased at other retailers.

And Danielle Kaplan, who stopped in for her dark-chocolate truffle fix, said she considered Schmidt candies "the best truffles anywhere in the world," including Europe, where she has lived.

Local chocolate fans are as fond of the mom-and-pop feel of the small store as they are of its signature truffles, with flavors like raspberry brandy, double latte and peanut butter praline.

They began crying in their candy boxes around Valentine's Day, when the closure was announced.

Joe Collins, a regular customer since 1985, said he was crushed. "Joseph Schmidt is the gold standard in San Francisco," he said. "I'm very sad and disappointed they're leaving."

Hershey spokesman Kirk Saville declined to comment on the reason for the closure but confirmed that Schmidt, the chocolatier, will remain a Hershey employee; workers at the Castro and San Jose stores and South of Market factory are being laid off. Neither Schmidt nor store employees would comment.

Piece of history

Chocoholics and their admirers, however, had plenty to say.

"It's devastating. We're losing a piece of San Francisco history," said Brian Wix, a vegan who doesn't even eat the candy but sometimes shops for his wife, a customer of 20 years.

From heart-shaped Valentine's truffles to Christmas bells, Easter chicks and chocolates sculpted to look like corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's Day, Joseph Schmidt candies have been the San Francisco treat that locals snacked on, bragged about or mailed across the country and overseas.

The humble Castro store has been an off-the-map tourist attraction, too, with its hand-painted gift boxes and edible gallery of bowls, tulips and San Francisco skylines.

"Every holiday is a Joseph Schmidt holiday," said Tom Metz, who goes for the truffle "slicks" and candied ginger. "I liked the fact that it was local and how creative their displays are."

Ann Telthorst comes to the store at least twice a month for her dark-chocolate fix and to buy gifts. Her obsession yielded a truffle-eating technique: Take a bite of the crisp chocolate shell, then suck, don't chomp, the gooey filling, allowing the flavor to "explode in your mouth."

Unhappy with Hershey

She's not happy that Hershey is discontinuing the brand. "It's infuriating when a business like this gets bought out and dumped," she said.

Eric Speer lives next door to the store and, though "it smells so good when I come home from work," he said, limits himself to a monthly splurge.

Natalie Nobriga, however, practices no such restraint. The manager at Tazza D'Amore coffee shop down the block said she has had everything in the store "twice and then some." She likes the turtles and the cherry bombs, but her favorite is the sea salt caramel truffle.

For her, the loss of the store goes beyond the chocolate. "It's so sad. Everyone in the neighborhood knows them," she said of the employees. "It's not just about the chocolate. It's about the people."